Our partner organization, the East New York Food Coop, is hiring a general manager. Please respond directly to them with any applications or questions.

Posted: April 11, 2008                                                        

 POSITION AVAILABLE - General Manager

EAST NEW YORK FOOD CO-OP, 419 New Lots Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, 11207

Please contact: Salima Jones-Daley, 646-281-8001, enyfpc@yahoo.com

The East New York Food Co-op (ENYFC) is a cooperative cooperation owned and run by its members for the purpose of having access to top quality organic, local, and wholesome food products at maximum savings and affordability. The ENYFC opened its doors in November 2006.

• Summary: Manage the day-to-day operations of the ENY Food Co-op by performing the following personally or through the supervision of staff & volunteer committees to maximize customer satisfaction, sales, and store cleanliness. The ENYFC is a business as well as a community –based project. Additional consideration will be given to those with community organizing experience. This position reports to the ENYFC Board of Directors. This is a Full-time position.
• Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:
• Manage and motivate staff & volunteer committees, 
• Plan, forecast, report on sales, costs and business performance,
• Manage selling and customer service activities and staff competence in these areas, so as to optimize and sustain sales performance, profitability and customer satisfaction.
• Monitor compliance of staff & volunteer members with established security, sales, safety, and record keeping procedures and practices.
• Answer guest’s complaints or inquiries.
• Lock and secure store.
• Operate the cash register, compute the bill and issue a receipt to customers.
• Deliver and verify deposits to the bank.
• Manage costs and overheads, and all factors affecting the sustainable performance of the Food Co-op.
• Liaise with and utilize support from suppliers, merchandisers and other partners as required.
• Manage, maintain and report as necessary all merchandise and non-merchandise stock.
• Manage upkeep and condition of all equipment, fixtures of shop premises.
• Manage health and safety, security, and emergency systems, capabilities and staff and customer awareness, according to company policy and relevant law.
• Seek and continuously develop knowledge and information about competitor activity, pricing and tactics, and communicate this to relevant departments in the Company.
• Attend general meetings and contribute to cooperative company strategy and policy-making as required.
• Develop personal skills and capability through on-going training, as provided by the ENY Food Co-op or elsewhere subject to Company approval.
• Qualifications and Requirements: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: In retail management, finance, and marketing.
• Driver’s License a plus
• Spanish fluency a plus.
• EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE: Minimum two year certificate from college or technical school, or two years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• LANGUAGE SKILLS: Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to guests and staff members. Ability to communicate with customers/members.
• MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute ratios and percentages.
• REASONING ABILITY: Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed written or oral instructions. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
• PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a staff member to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the staff member is regularly required to stand and talk or hear. The staff member frequently is required to walk. The staff member is occasionally required to sit; use hands to handle objects or tools; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The staff member must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds, and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

Job opening - Urban Agriculture Coordinator, East New York Farms! Project

Responsibilities:

• Recruit and train new and experienced gardeners from East New York and surrounding communities in urban production for market (primarily vegetable production, possibility of chicken raising and bee-keeping)
• Lead and coordinate trainings for gardeners, as well as provide individual technical assistance
• Organize local gardeners and develop their capacity to support each other, sell at the farmers market, and oversee a micro-loan fund
• Provide group development assistance to 20-30 members of new 1/2 acre urban farm, and assist them in further developing the farm
• Supervise and support Urban Farm Manager in cultivating and maintaining a half-acre urban farm
• Co-supervise and train teens (ages 13-16) to grow vegetables, serve other neighborhood gardeners, and help run the farmers’ market
• Assist with designing and leading lessons to build skills and help youth understand the social context of their work
• Track and assist with reporting activities to funders
• Support farmers’ market operations
• Support outreach/promotion efforts of project

Qualifications:

• At least one full season of growing experience, primarily in small fruit and vegetable production
• Experience facilitating trainings for both youth and adults
• Experience working with diverse communities and individuals
• Responsible and able to work independently
• Drivers’ license a must
• Ability to work weekends (work week is Tuesday – Saturday from March through November) and occasional evenings
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• Spanish language skills a plus

This is a full-time position with full benefits

Position will start part-time February 1, 2008 (for training) and become full-time March 1, 2008.

Please send resume and cover letter by December 14, 2007 to:

Sarita Daftary

East New York Farms! Project Director

info@eastnewyorkfarms.org

The mission of the East New York Farms! Project is to organize youth and adult residents to address food issues in their community by promoting local and regional sustainable agriculture and community-led economic development.

Invite

Celebrate the harvest with us! Featuring local wines from Peconic Bay Winery, and dishes cooked with fresh local ingredients by some of NYCs best restaurants - the Savoy, Blue Hill Restaurant, Cookshop, Butter, EU, Gramercy Tavern, and the Spotted Pig.

VISIT US AT OUR *NEW* LOCATION  - New Lots and Schenck Aves

#3 train to Van Siclen ; B15, B83, B6

September 1: FLAG DAY

Celebrate Carnavale!

Join us for a celebration of Carnvale, with reggae, dancehall, soca, and calypso all day

Visit our West Indian vendors selling fish cakes, beef patties, bake & salt fish, sorrel, seamoss, &  more!

Come wearing your favorite flag and win a FREE GIFT!

September 15:

Canning demonstration with Classie Parker of Five Star Garden, 10 am

September 22: FREE ICE CREAM

Help the Five Boroughs Ice Cream Company to create a NEW “East New York” ice cream flavor.

Sample their flavors and suggest your own—11 am—2pm

September 29:

Composting Workshop with Olympus Garden Club, 10:30 am

October 6:

Seed Saving Workshop with Fareed and Wajeedah Hightower-Beyah, 10:30 am

October 13: CHILDREN’S DAY

Dance Performance and Workshop with the Salaam Debkah Group, 12 pm*

Cooking demonstration and samples of delicious Middle Eastern food

Face painting; FREE coloring books for the first 50 children

Learn to make your own baby food! with Ena Nemley of Fordham-Bedford Garden, 11 am

October 27: PUMPKIN FESTIVAL

BRING THE WHOLE FAMILY FOR FALL FUN ALL DAY LONG

Pumpkin Painting - Bobbing for apples - Marshmallow roasting

Freshly-pressed apple cider with Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum

* This event is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts. In Kings County the Decentralization Program is administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council, Inc (BAC)

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070730/johnson

http://www.plentymag.com/features/2007/07/a_zucchini_grows_in_brooklyn.php

  VISIT US AT OUR *NEW* LOCATION  - New Lots and Schenck Aves

#3 train to Van Siclen ; B15, B83, B6

June 30: OPENING DAY!

Performance by The Soul Shakers, 11 am

The members of this vocal group preserve the sounds of classical doo-wop and R&B from the 1950s and 1960s. The Citigroup Foundation is proud to sponsor the 2006-2007 Neighborhood Concert Series, a program of The Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall. Neighborhood Concerts are funded in part by the New York City Council 

July 7: Gardening Workshop with Solita Stevens, Olympus Garden Club, 10:30 am

FREE Food-Stamp Pre-Screenings, find out if you’re eligible!

July 21: CELEBRATE HAITIAN CULTURE*

Dancing and drumming with La Troupe Zetwal, 11am

Cooking demonstration by MaryLou Calvaire, 12pm

Storytelling in English and Creole, Bernadette Francois, 11 am

FREE Food Stamp Pre-Screenings, find out if you’re eligible!

August 4: EAT IN, ACT OUT DAY

FREE seeds to start your own garden

Urban Gardening Workshop—10 am

Take the Tomato Taste Test, and pick your own FREE cherry tomatoes

FREE Food Stamp Pre-Screenings, find out if you’re eligible

August 11: CELEBRATE AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURE*

Traditional American tap dance with the Young Hoofers, 11am

Cooking demonstration by Johanna Willins, 12pm

August 18: FREE Food Stamp Pre-Screenings, find out if you’re eligible

August 25: HEALTH & WELLNESS DAY

Medicinal Herbs, with Johanna Willins 11am

Workshop on Benefits of Massage, by Nayda Maymi, followed by FREE massages, at 10 am and 12 pm

Blood sugar screenings provided by Betty Shabazz Health Center

FREE cookbooks for the first 50 customers

Holistic health info with Ameet Maturu, TheIntuitiveCook.com

* These events are made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts. In Kings County the Decentralization Program is admininstered by the Brooklyn Arts Council, Inc (BAC)

Representatives from the East New York Farms! Project will speak about our work in improving our neighborhood at the launch of the Project for Public Spaces' new book "The Great Neighborhood Book."

Project for Public Spaces kindly thanks the Cobble Hill Association, The Book Court, Smith & Vine, Stinky Cheese and Christ Church for their support of this event.

        On a beautiful saturday in April New York Cares volunteers came to the UCC youth Farm to help us prepare for this season. A group of 25 people helped by weeding, creating a raised bed, working on our compost pile, laying black plastic, double digging, and cleaning our pond. It was a lot of hard work and we are vey thankful that our volunteers could help us out.

Pictures taken by our volunteers can be found by clicking the following link:

http://photo-ra.com/ny%20cares%20volunteers/intro1.html

On April 19^th, the Mayor’s Street Activity permit office approved our request to close off a one-block area for our farmers market. Having the market on the street will not only create an even more festive atmosphere (like a street fair every Saturday!) but will also allow us to open the UCC Youth Farm for tours every Saturday. Market customers can come at 10:30 am and 12:30 pm to join a tour of garden led by East New York Farms! youth interns.

 

Come visit us at our new location! Opening Day will be Saturday June 30^th, 9 am – 3 pm, featuring The Soul Shakers singing doo-wop and R&B at 11 am, at our NEW home, Schenck Avenue between New Lots Avenue and Barbey Street (#3 train to Van Siclen).